


Cave Under the Cliffs

by CaptainErica



Category: Big Bang (Band), K-pop
Genre: M/M, daesung boo you gotta stop worrying, dragon!seungri, seungri the flirt, why do you all let me write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 12:59:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8057341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: Daesung found the whole thing rather odd, really, but then he saw the man at the base of the cliffs and he really needed to know more.





	Cave Under the Cliffs

There’s an old tradition amongst the young people in the area that Daesung would never actively participate in, but is also very intrigued by. He’d moved to the small town about two years ago because his college was close by and the rent was cheap, but he’d never been able to understand the tradition. Every couple of months, a group of 16 to 20-something year olds would gather around the edge of the cliffs on the east side of town.

Daesung had followed them there one time, when he’d been new to the town and his friends had expressed interest in figuring out what they were all doing. The group would stay there for a couple of hours, and they always had some type of doll or something that they would set fire to and drop off the edge and onto the craggy beach below. Once that was done, a number of them (Daesung only went once so he doesn’t know if there’s some type of  _ reason _ to who does it) would jump out into the ocean.

It was dangerous and unnecessary, and there was something about the ritual of the whole bruning doll thing that made him uncomfortable and determined not to have anything to do with it. 

But he really liked the cliffs.

Daesung stares out at the ocean and the sky, his eyes following them to that point on the horizon where you can’t tell the difference between the two anymore. It’s just after the traditional doll burning and ocean-jumping, so the cliff top is empty of people. This is the first time he’s come so close to one of these events since the one he attended when he’d arrived. He doesn’t normally come out here so close to the same time as them, but he’s on a break and he’s  _ bored _ and he loves sitting there.

His eyes trace their way back down to the little beach. It’s not really much of a beach; craggy and more like a ledge leading directly into deep water. His eyes follow it down a short ways to his left, and as he’s tracing it back up to the right, he catches movement. He frowns, leaning forward a little and squinting down at the spot to try and figure out what he’s seeing.

The cliff isn’t exceptionally high, so he’s able to pick out the shape moving along the cliff wall toward what his eyes register as the burned doll from earlier. He sits up a little straighter, leaning forward to really get a good look. The shape pushes away from the wall and moves quickly out to grab the burned doll, before turning its head from side to side and moving just as quickly back against the wall. He’s about to call down (out of confusion more than anything), when the head of the thing down there turns up toward him and it’s eyes catch his.

Daesung feels frozen to the spot, and his mouth falls open in shock as his eyes finally register what the shape is: a man.

But it’s not really just  _ any _ man. There’s something  _ off _ about him; his hair a scruffy mop of black curls on his head and his eyes glittering brightly. He’s clutching the burned doll to his chest like it’s some kind of precious treasure and there’s just a touch of fear in the upturned face.

Daesung feels his heart clench painfully as he watches the man shuffle back against the wall, eyes never leaving him, as though Daesung were the scariest thing on the earth. He sits back, his eyes returning to the ocean briefly in contemplation, before he stands up and brushes himself off. The only thing he could think about now was the man, and how he wanted to find answers.

He finds  _ something _ resembling an answer on the town website, which leads him to another search which drops him on Wikipedia with an incredulous look on his face and disapproval etched deep into his bones.

Disappearances in the town had been pretty common, he found out, for a large number of years in the late 1800’s and mid 1900’s. The missing were mostly children, varying in ages, and none ever seemed to return. Somehow, Daesung had read, the townsfolk figured out that if they made an offering of a doll and dropped it off the edge of the cliff, the disappearances lessened until they ceased altogether. This information makes Daesung sad.

It sounded, honestly, like there was a child down there, or had been, and it wanted company. He reads around ten articles on the situation, and finally decides that there isn’t enough  _ legitimate _ information, and the stories he  _ can _ find are about the very distant past; the man down on the ledge now can’t be related to  _ those _ . He’s too young to have been around then. It’s just the ritual that still is.

He sighs and then tries to research the cliff itself. He’d never tried to climb down it, but the man had gotten there somehow, so there must be a way to get there that didn’t include leaping recklessly off the edge of the cliff into the ocean. He can’t find anything, very helpful, but after a little bit of waffling, he decides to go back to the cliff the next day and see if he can find a way down.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Daesung starts at the far end of the cliff, closest to the woods, and walks along it to the spot he’d sat in the day before. He can’t discern any specific way down, but he’s starting to believe that there’s only one way he’ll get down there without hurting himself horribly: boat.

Luckily for him, he happens to know how to get his hands on a kayak that should serve his purposes just fine. He grins on his way to get it, proud of himself.

He’s a little less proud of himself as he pulls up next to the craggy beach and realizes that he’s not sure how he’s going to get out of the kayak. He struggles for a moment, before deciding to throw his bag onto the ledge and trying to gently tip himself out onto the ledge. He manages better than he’d originally thought he would, and is soon standing next to his kayak with his backpack on and feeling even more proud than he had earlier.

He looks up the face of the cliff and tries to see if he can pinpoint where it was that he’d been sitting the day before. It’s not easy to see, so he decides to walk along the beach in the direction that he’d seen the man moving until he finds something.

It only takes him a few minutes to find a cave that opens up into the cliff face. He’s momentarily surprised, especially since there was no mention of there being caves in the area anywhere, but he shrugs it off and hurries toward it. He feels a little trepidation as he nears the cave, but he shakes his head and reminds himself why he was here: the man with the burned doll.

He fishes through his bag for his flashlight, and turns it on once it’s in his hand. He takes a deep breath and then forces himself to step into the dark cave.

***

There’s a prick of light suddenly visible at the edge of the cave, and Seungri blinks his eyes open slowly. He didn’t normally sleep this close to the edge of the cave, but he’d had a feeling that he  _ should _ for the last few days, even before the gift had been left for him. He snuggles closer to the newest doll, his eyes trained on the cave opening. 

The light moves around and Seungri realizes suddenly, a tingle up his spine, that there’s a human behind it. He shuffles quietly against the wall and hopes they can’t see him there.

His ears prick up at the sound of the human’s voice muttering as he walks slowly deeper into the cave. “It’s just a little dark, it’s fine.” The voice says, softly. Seungri likes the sound of the voice, and before he can stop himself he’s shifting closer. “There’s nothing in here, you’re fine.” The voice whispers, and Seungri smiles, wide and with all his teeth showing.

“The man has to have come in here.” The voice mutters, and suddenly Seungri stops smiling. His head cocking to the side to stare at the approaching pin-prick of light. His eyes adjust around the light and he can make out a human that he recognizes.

_ It’s the human from the cliff _ .

There’s a thrill of excitement running through him now, but he’s also wary:  _ Why is the human here? _ He forces himself to stay still against the wall so that he isn’t seen, but he wants to move forward and see what the human wants. The light swings in Seungri’s direction and he shuts his eyes quickly, hoping to blend in.

***

Daesung can’t see anything out of the ordinary in the cave so far; though he’ll be the first to admit that he knows very little about what is normally inside a sea cave. He swings the flashlight over to illuminate the back of the cave, and pauses when the light catches on something briefly against the far left wall. 

There are a number of rock formations jutting out of the ground throughout the cave, but in the back there is a huge one that leaves only two clear paths on either side of it. If he hadn’t been looking he’d have thought the cave ended with that rock formation. He takes a few steps closer, his eyes on the left-hand side where the flashlight had caught on something bright.

He’s only a few yards away from it when he pulls up to a stop, his brain trying to make sense of what his eyes are seeing. There, in front of him, is a huge black shape. It’s clearly an animal, but what kind of animal it could be is outside the realm of believability or reality.

It looks like a dragon.

Daesung trains the flashlight on the shape, his eyes roaming over it with avid interest. He’s about to move forward to see it better when he realizes that if it  _ is _ a…. _ dragon _ ...then he should be a lot more wary than he’s currently being. When the shape doesn’t move after a couple of moments, he decides that it  _ must _ be safe to move at least a little closer.

He takes two near-silent steps forward, before freezing in shock; there are two giant eyes staring up at him.

The head lifts up and it’s eyes are now level with Daesung’s head, and Daesung wonders briefly if he’s going to die. The thought is chased out of his mind when the dragon tilts its head to the side in a look so reminiscent of a dog, that Daesung is immediately put at ease.

“Hello there.” He says softly after a hasty exhale of the breath he’d been holding. The dragon blinks at him, it’s head tilting to the opposite side, and the visual is so amusing that Daesung feels a bright smile tug at his lips. “What are  _ you _ doing down here?” He asks, and the dragon blinks slowly then looks around.

_ My home. _ He hears in his head. The voice is tinny, almost reedy. It’s clearly coming from the dragon, but it sounds hesitant and worried. Daesung’s eyes travel down from the dragon’s head to its front legs, where he spies something familiar.

“What’s that?” He asks, kneeling down and pointing at the thing clutched against the dragon’s chest. The dragon looks down and then slowly pulls it out.

_ My doll _ . He says, and Daesung notes with alarm that it’s the same burned doll from the day before.

His breathing quickens and he’s feeling a little faint: had the dragon  _ eaten  _ the man from the day before? Or...or probably worse than that..was the dragon the man from the day before?

The dragon seems to pick up on his anxiety, and it pulls the doll back against its chest.  _ They give them to me. They leave them on the beach for me. _ The voice says, a small amount of panic settling into the sound.

Daesung immediately feels guilty. The dragon was clearly attached to the doll, it makes Daesung wonder if maybe he had picked up any of the others. He shakes his head and puts his hand up in a placating gesture.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He says calmly. The dragon remains tense, so Daesung takes in a deep breath and tries something else. “Did I see you yesterday? Was it you who came out to get the doll from the beach?”

The dragon is silent for a moment, still and motionless, but then he nods his large flat head once.  _ I get it after they drop it. _

Daesung smiles at him. “That’s very smart. How long have you been getting the dolls?”

The dragon bristles and preens at the same time, and Daesung wouldn’t have believed that such a thing were possible if he hadn’t just witnessed it with his own eyes.  _ Years _ . He says, and it’s both proud and wary, and Daesung feels a little bad. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to treat you like a...child.” He says, tilting his head to the side as he says the last word. He has no idea how old the dragon is, nor does he really know anything about him. The dragon looks at him for a second, then curls into itself for a moment. Daesung is confused, his eyes straining to make the dark shape of the dragon out in the darkness.

But then, suddenly, he’s looking at the young man from the beach the day before. He looks to be around the same age as Daesung, and he’s muscled, though thin. His hair is black and curly and messy. His eyes are dark, the same as the eyes of the dragon from moments before. 

“How?” Daesung asks, stepping forward and then back again in both interest and trepidation. The man smiles, all teeth and eagerness, and steps forward. 

“I’m not a child.” He huffs out, his smile never dimming. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Have you?” 

It’s strange to hear the voice through his ears instead of directly inside his head, but he shakes his head in response to the question and clears his throat to give himself time to collect himself before responding.

“No, no you aren’t a child.” he says, his eyes traveling down from Seungri’s face to his chest, where a threadbare shirt hung loosely over his frame and then to the practically useless pants that hung from his slender hips. He’s sure his mouth is open, and he wonders suddenly if it’s  _ normal _ to find oneself attracted to a dragon that had just turned into a human. He blinks and shakes his head. “And no, I’m not from here. I moved here two years ago.” 

The dragon (man?) moves forward slightly, stepping over the doll. “I’m Seungri.” He says, and Daesung smiles, fighting a battle against his eyes to keep them up on the man’s face.

“Daesung.” He replies, and Seungri’s face is split in a grin of true happiness. 

“I like that.” He says, his eyes looking Daesung up and down. “It sounds like you.” 

Daesung’s a little confused by that statement, but he pushes through it. “You’ve been here your whole life?” He asks, and Seungri nods.

“Yes, even when my family left, I stayed here.” He says, but his eyes are still bright, and he’s looking at Daesung’s face very intently. “I like that face...what you just did to your face. Do it again.” He says, and Daesung’s a little taken aback (and honestly he doesn’t have  _ any _ idea what he had just done to his face). “No, no that’s not right. But I like this one too.”

“I’m sorry?” Daesung manages, even as Seungri presses in closer to him. “I’m not sure what face you want me to make…” 

Seungri shrugs, much closer now. He looks at him very intently for a moment. “Do other humans look like you?” He asks, gesturing toward Daesung’s face, his head tilted to the side and his eyes full of interest.

Daesung almost bristles at the potential implication, but he shakes his head instead. “I resemble my family members…” He murmurs, but Seungri shakes his head. 

He presses a finger to Daesung’s lips, and then to Daesung’s nose and eyes, then he runs a hand through Daesung’s hair. “Does anyone look like  _ you _ ?” He asks again, and Daesung shakes his head slowly. 

“Ah, no. No I don’t think so.” He says, his voice only barely louder than a whisper. He’s not sure, really, what Seungri means, but this seems to be the correct answer, because Seungri laughs suddenly, and nods.

“How special.” He says, and then he pulls on Daesung’s hand. “I’ve not had a friend in  _ years _ .” He says, tugging Daesung along behind him back into the cave. He pauses briefly to pick up the doll and then pulls Daesung deeper into the cave. “Did you come to play with me? I’ve not played with anyone in  _ years _ .” He adds, and Daesung feels his heart stutter and his stomach drop.

There are butterflies in his stomach from the feeling of Seungri’s hand in his and leftover from the way Seungri had gently touched his face. It suddenly feels wrong. It feels wrong to be so suddenly and ridiculously  _ attracted _ to this man when he’s  _ clearly _ so young in so many ways. He may be around Daesung’s age in years, but there was something so...child-like about him. It felt wrong for him to want to stare at Seungri’s back as he pulled him along with him. It felt wrong but he couldn’t stop himself.

“I, uh, wasn’t sure if I’d even find you.” He says truthfully, and Seungri throws a smile over his shoulder that Daesung almost misses because it’s dark and he’s stumbling along blindly and his flashlight is pointed at the ground. The smile rocks Daesung down to the ground and he feels like his legs will give way but they don’t and he’s so grateful for that he could kiss them.

“You did, though.” Seungri says.

They come to a stop in what feels like a large cavern. Daesung realizes suddenly that Seungri must not need as much light as he does to see, and wonders how that even works. He’s thinking about this as Seungri lets go of his hand and moves away from him. He looks up and around, trying to locate Seungri in the pitch-dark of the cavern, when suddenly there’s light against the wall beside him and he catches Seungri placing a lit torch into a bracket on the wall.

There’s not much light, but it’s enough for him to see that there seems to be furniture of some sort in the cavern. He’s focused on trying to see the room, so he doesn’t notice Seungri moving to light another torch on the far wall until there is considerably more light for him to see by. With the two torches he can see a large majority of the details of the room. It’s large and strangely shaped, with a bed in the center and a couple of chests with what appears to be clothing spilling out of them placed at the head and foot. There is another chest on the wall next to the second torch that seems to be full of burnt dolls, and a large bookshelf filled to overflowing with books of all shapes and sizes.

A third torch is lit and the room is immensely easier to see. There are tapestries on some of the walls, and the ceiling glitters with the reflection of the firelight. The tapestries look old, but well-kept, and Daesung finds himself wandering over to one, his fingers brushing gently across the surface.

“Mother used to make them.” Seungri says from behind him, and Daesung shivers (glad that he didn’t jump in surprise). Seungri leans forward and places his chin on Daesung’s shoulder and points out the characters and describes the scene. “This one is my favorite.” He says, and Daesung can sort of understand why.

It’s a little morbid, really, but it doesn’t make it any less interesting. The scene in the tapestry is of the dolls being burned by the townsfolk and then dropped to the beach ledge below. You’re looking at the scene from the side, though, so the cliff is cut open and you can see the little dragons waiting inside.

“Everyone else left.” Seungri says, his finger tapping against the crowd of little dragons in the cave. “A long time ago. But I couldn’t.” He says, and there’s a little bit of sadness there, a little bit of consternation.

“Why not?”  Daesung asks, sad for Seungri’s loneliness, but happy for his own gain.

Seungri shrugs, lifting his head up and away from Daesung’s shoulder as he backs up. “Because I had to wait.” He says, and Daesung turns just in time to catch the mask of indifference Seungri pulls up over his expressive face.

Daesung is just  _ more _ curious now, his eyes following Seungri with just a little bit of concern. “For what?” He asks, and Seungri shrugs, his eyes flicking over to another tapestry that Daesung could only barely make out. It’s hanging on the only wall that Seungri hadn’t lit a torch for. Daesung looks at Seungri for a second, and then decides that he can wait to check it out. “What do you normally do down here, alone?” He asks, and then feels dumb for having added the ‘alone’ part.

Seungri’s eyes flicker back up to his, and then a smile breaks out across his face and he reaches forward to grab Daesung’s hand. “Come look at my books.” He says, with all the enthusiasm of someone who’d never been told that such enthusiasm wasn’t  _ right _ . Daesung feels his attraction to the man flutter to life again and he lets out a sigh.

Seungri has many books, Daesung finds out, and he’s enthusiastic about all of them. Some of them are books that Daesung has heard of, but most of them are not, and he’s intrigued by the diversity of the collection. He feels around for his backpack, which he’d deposited behind him when he sat down with Seungri in front of the bookshelf, and rummages through it.

“What’s that?” Seungri asks, his fingers clearly itching to touch Daesung’s bag. He laughs, and shakes his head.

“One second!” He mutters on a laugh, pushing Seungri’s hands out of the way. He pulls out a book that he’d shoved in on a whim, and with barely a glance at the cover, he holds it out for Seungri. “I don’t know if you’ll like it, but here.”

Seungri is silent. His excitement is palpable, though, and Daesung smiles encouragingly at him, pressing the book into Seungri’s lap when the man seems incapable of taking it from him.

“For me?” He asks, and Daesung feels his heart swell and break at the same time. “Really?” He asks, and Daesung nods.

“Of course. I want you to have it.” He says, and he suddenly feels like the gift is inadequate. If he’d known more about Seungri before he came down then maybe...maybe he’d have been able to get him a more fitting book? Maybe he’d have…

“Thank you.” Seungri breathes, pulling the book up to his chest before he looks up into Daesung’s eyes and leans forward.

Daesung expects a hug. He expects Seungri to throw one arm around his shoulders and press into him with their heads resting on each other’s shoulders. He  _ doesn’t _ expect Seungri to place his lips firmly against his own, pressing slightly forward. He doesn’t expect his mouth to fall open in shock and  _ want _ only to have Seungri back up, his eyes shining with sincere thankfulness and no thought to what he’d just done.

Except he  _ should _ have expected that last part. What did Seungri know of kisses and hugs and normal gratitude? Seungri had said that he’d lived down here alone for  _ who knew  _ how many years after his family had left him. He’s blushing, but he’s certain, suddenly, that not only will Seungri not notice it, but he wouldn’t understand if he  _ did _ . He tears his eyes away from Seungri, who’s looking at the book with the kind of wonder and happiness that Daesung hasn’t looked at anything in a very long time. His eyes land on the far wall and the obscured tapestry hanging there.

“What else do you have in there?” Seungri asks suddenly, pulling Daesung’s eyes back to him.

A smile returns to Daesung’s face and he shrugs. “Nothing much.” He says, but Seungri’s eyes light up with excitement and he sets the book down carefully, sitting up on his knees to get closer. 

“Show me.” He says, and Daesung rolls his eyes playfully.

“Well, since you  _ asked _ .” He says, and Seungri laughs as Daesung makes a show of reaching into the bag and pulling out some fruit and bread. He’s not got anything much else in there, but Seungri’s enthusiasm seems to know no bounds, and he picks the food up with interest.

“I remember these.” He murmurs, his head tilting to the side as he looks them all over. “When I was very young…” He trails off, and Daesung leans forward, desperate for more information. Seungri looks up and sees his look of interest and he shrugs. “When I was very young, before I was a dragon, we ate fruit from the trees in the orchard and bread from the bakery next door.” 

Daesung hadn’t expected that. “ _ Before _ you were a dragon?” he asks, and Seungri nods, looking at him like he’s exceptionally dull for not understanding.

“Yes, before. When I was just a human.” He says, as though that were normal and everyday and  _ everyone _ knew it.

“I’m sorry, Seungri, but...I’ve never heard of that before.” 

Seungri looks at him for a moment, placing the fruit down so that he can really study Daesung. “But all the children know.” He says, before shaking his head. “It’s been a long time, though.” He adds, and Daesung fights a losing battle against himself not to get impatient.

“What do you mean?” He asks, and Seungri, whose eyes had fallen from his face to his hands as he thought, looks back up.

“Children went missing in the village sometimes, and no one knew why. I was very little when it started, but when I started to have the  _ dreams _ ...I learned where they all went; I wanted to go to. I came to the cliff edge everyday, like a lot of kids did, but I kept coming later and later and sneaking away until one night mother was there waiting for me. She brought me to the cave and then…” He trails off again, his arms spreading out around him. “They were all here...well, not  _ all _ . Some of them had never come, and some had already left to go where they were supposed to be.”

Daesung watches him for a moment, his mind trying to process this information. “How old were you?” He asks, finally, his voice soft.

Seungri tilts his head to the side in thought, and Daesung wonders briefly if Seungri even  _ knows _ how old he is. “I was 16.” He says.

Daesung nods, his mind wandering to the articles he’d read about the children going missing. The ages had been between very young and 20 years old or so, so 16 isn’t very strange. He decides that now he’ll have to look those articles up again and see if he can find anything on Seungri. “So how old are you now?” He asks finally, and Seungri grins up at him, coy and playful.

“How old are you?” He asks, and Daesung wonders if they’re playing a game that he wasn’t given the rules to. Seungri was 16 when he left his family, so he should know about flirting and kissing, but he’d also been alone for so long that maybe he’d forgotten?

“I’m 27.” He says, uncertain if he should have said it or not. Is he too old for Seungri? Is Seungri older than he seems?

Seungri laughs, and Daesung looks up at him, bewildered. “You’re so  _ young _ .” He says fondly, leaning forward to run a hand down Daesung’s face. He sighs after a short moment, and looks toward the entrance to the cavern. “You need to go.” He says softly, and definitely sadly. “It’s going to be too dark for you to see soon.” 

Daesung blinks in surprise, looking down at his watch to note that it has definitely been longer than he had intended to spend there. “You’re right. I should go.” He says, closing up his backpack and standing up. Seungri scrambles up after him, his eyes worried and his face in a pout.

“Will you come back to see me?” He asks, and there is no way on this  _ earth _ that Daesung could ever have said no.

“Of course.” He says, a smile firmly planted on his mouth as he claps a hand on Seungri’s back. “I have classes tomorrow, but maybe the day after.”

Seungri nods, his enthusiasm back in full-force. He grabs Daesung’s arm and walks with him out of the cavern and to the edge of the cave. “Come back and we can play again!” He says, and his energy is infectious and Daesung can’t help but to smile brightly back at him.

“Absolutely.”

***

Daesung forgets, because it’s later than he expected and he’s got some work to finish for his classes the next day, to look up  the missing children and try to find if Seungri is among them. He forgets the next day after class, and he doesn’t ever really remember to do so for quite a while.

He visits Seungri almost daily; bringing gifts and books and fresh fruit when he can. He can’t  _ stop _ himself from going to see Seungri. It’s impossible to explain,, but he finds himself tracing the same trail and pulling out his kayak day after day and week after week and seeing Seungri’s face is sometimes the only thing that can lift his spirits after a bad day. It’s getting colder, though, and it’s getting darker earlier, and soon he doesn’t know how he’ll get down to see Seungri because the only way he knows how to get there is by the ocean and it’s going to be too cold to do that soon.

It’s late. It’s late and he knows it but Seungri is telling him a story about how he’d learned how to dance, and he can’t bring himself to stop him. He can’t bring himself to tell Seungri that he needs to leave now or he won’t be able to get home. 

“It’s late.” Seungri says suddenly, pausing in his laughter. He’s finished his story and he and Daesung are on the floor where they’d been laughing together over Seungri’s dancing problems. “It’s getting dark…” He trails off, worry in his tone. He knows better than anyone how hard it is to get down to the cave from the cliffs. He also knows that Daesung uses a very small boat to do it.

Daesung sighs, looking down at his watch. “You’re right. I should have been paying more attention.” He’s not  _ really _ upset, though. He’ll have to navigate through the dark, and it’s probably not a good idea, but he’s taken the route so many times….

“Stay here tonight.” Seungri says, and Daesung looks up at him. He’s sitting up, hovering over Daesung who hadn’t bothered to do so. “I’ll be worried if you go out now. The ocean isn’t safe in the dark.” He adds, his voice barely more than a whisper. He’s clearly worried, but there’s an anxiety there that isn’t related to the ocean’s current safety.

Daesung takes in a deep breath. He’d spent the last few months battling his attraction to Seungri, so what was one night? He lets out his breath on a sigh. “Yeah, I should probably stay here tonight.” He says, his eyes closing briefly. He misses the look of elation that crosses Seungri’s face.

“Good.” Seungri says, his eyes trailing over Daesung before he sits back.

Daesung considers falling asleep right then, but it isn’t really that late at all, so he challenges Seungri to a board game, and by the time they’re ready to fall asleep, the tension is gone from the room and he feels less uncomfortable. They crawl into the bed together, Seungri whining about how cold Daesung is and snuggling close, and fall asleep easily, quickly, like they did this all the time.

Daesung wakes up the next morning boiling hot and very obviously alone. He wakes up suddenly, gasping into consciousness and reaching across the bed hoping to find something to ground him but finding himself without a bedmate. He scrubs a hand over his face and then slowly pushes himself up and gets out of the bed. Seungri is nowhere to be seen, and there are no torches lit in the cavern so he stumbles around until he finds the entrance and stumbles out into the early morning light. 

He finds Seungri then, swimming along the edge of the ledge in dragon form. He watches him for a moment from the relative obscurity of the cave entrance. It’s always fascinating to him when he sees Seungri like this. Carefree and animal-like. It was weird at first...but now...now it is part of Seungri to him, and he can’t separate the two.

Seungri comes out not too long after, dripping and waddling like a happy dog up to the cave where he spies Daesung and lets out a squeal of delight before turning back into a human mid-stride. “You’re awake!” He says, dripping wet and not very well covered. 

Daesung nods, his eyes fighting to look down. “As are you.” He says with a small, morning smile. He’s still a little sleepy, and Seungri notices that, ushering him back inside and lighting a few torches before settling him onto a rug on the floor.

“Did you sleep well?” Seungri asks from beside him, and Daesung nods, his eyes closed. “Good.” Seungri whispers. Daesung’s surprised when Seungri’s fingers begin to softly stroke through his hair, but he quickly becomes accustomed to the feeling, leaning back into the touch. Seungri was very fond of touching, and Daesung had worked hard to get used to the constant caresses so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself or Seungri.

They’re silent for a moment, until Daesung decides to sit up, his eyes trailing (as they often did) to the far wall that Seungri never lit a torch for. He nods toward it, and then looks over at Seungri. “What’s on that wall?” He asks, and Seungri looks at him, surprise flickering across his face before he shrugs. 

“Another tapestry.” He says, trying, and failing  _ spectacularly _ , to be nonchalant. Daesung raises an eyebrow at him and waits another beat. Seungri looks up at him and then sighs dramatically. “Alright, come on.” He says, standing up reluctantly and trudging over to the far wall. Daesung smiles brightly at him before standing up to follow. 

Seungri lights the torch there and places it gently into the bracket. There are multiple tapestries on this wall, but there’s only one that Daesung wants to look at: smaller than the others in the cavern, it’s colored in bright blues and dark browns. There are two people standing at the center, their eyes on each other and their faces stitched in profile. Even from where he is now, stopped just on the other side of Seungri’s bed and still a number of yards away, the resemblance that the two in the tapestry bare to himself and Seungri is striking.

His eyes snap to Seungri, who’s hiding beside the torch, one hand on the back of his neck as he leans into the wall. “Who made this?” He breathes out, and Seungri takes in a visibly deep breath, his eyes on the ground.

“When I first came here, I had dreams all the time. They were all different and they were hard to remember.” He says softly, and Daesung’s eyes return to the tapestry. The edging was intricate knotwork and there was an ocean in the background. “But then my dreams calmed and there was one thing that connected them all together: a human.” Seungri isn’t looking at him, and he’s almost tempted to move forward and make Seungri look at him, but he holds back. “I showed mother, and she made me this.” He waves at the tapestry, and Daesung decides it’s okay to move forward now.

He walks up to the tapestry and reaches out to touch it. Seungri reacts quickly, grabbing his hand just before it touches the tapestry. Daesung turns to look at him, and he gulps, letting go of his hand quickly and looking away. Daesung doesn’t try to touch the tapestry again, however.

“How long?” He asks. It’s been months but Seungri has never once told him his age. He knows that there’s more than the childish wonder and excitement to the man now, but he doesn’t know how old he  _ really _ is.

“A long,  _ long _ time.” He says, and Daesung nods, though he’s not fully dissuaded from continuing to press for a number. 

He suddenly remembers as he looks at the tapestry some more, one of the first things Seungri had ever said to him:  _ Does anyone look like  _ you _?”  _ He pulls in a deep breath, and then looks at Seungri.

“How long, Seungri. How long is a long time?”

Seungri shrugs, looking down and away before taking an audible breath. “Dragons don’t age the same way humans do.” He says finally, and Daesung nods, taking a slow step forward. “We slow down just after we change for the first time...and then…” He trails off, looking up at Daesung. “I don’t know how old, but I’ve looked like this for a long while.”

Daesung nods, his heart pounding in his ears. He looks down at his watch and notes the time before looking back up at Seungri. “I should go, I have class today.” He says softly, and Seungri nods slowly, worry and sad acceptance crossing over his face.

Daesung doesn’t want to leave, but he gathers his stuff and gets slowly into the kayak to make his way back home. Once home he showers and gets ready for school. Once his classes are over, he pauses. He stops at a bench in the middle of campus and sits down, his head falling into his hands. He’s almost done with school. He’s almost got his degree and he’s already got a job.

But he would rather spend the rest of his life in a little cave underneath the cliffs of the small town he moved to two and a half years ago. He shakes his head and looks around him. He needs to go to the library.

If it’s Seungri’s potential age that is causing him so much anxiety, then maybe all he needs to do is find a roster of all of the missing children, and look for any that could be Seungri. Maybe he’ll find what he’s looking for and maybe he won’t, but at least he’ll have  _ some _ type of answer.

He spends three hours digging through old reports and finds a lot of answers and more questions. He pauses when he notices the time and with a very small amount of hesitance, he packs up all of his stuff, runs home, and then makes his way to his kayak. He’s pulling up alongside the cave soon after and he pulls himself onto the ledge and drags his kayak up to the wall. 

His heart is pounding against his chest and he pauses at the cave entrance before forcing himself to breathe normally. 

Seungri usually meets him just inside the cave with a hug before tugging him out back where the torches are already lit and he can wander in without worry. This afternoon the cave is dark and Seungri isn’t waiting for him. He pulls out his flashlight and makes his way carefully into the dark cavern.

“Seungri?” He calls, barely above a whisper; he didn’t need to be any louder, Seungri most likely already knew he was there. There’s a sound like shuffling from somewhere to his right, so he turns in that direction and carefully picks his way over toward the bed. “Are you on the bed?” He asks softly as he makes his way over. 

_ You left me. _

The voice is a whine in his head and Daesung feels pain and sadness slam into him. He reaches out to grab the end of the bed to steady himself. Once he’s steady he keeps moving, dropping the flashlight onto the floor and pushing up onto the bed, shedding his backpack as he goes. He reaches forward until his hand comes in contact with Seungri’s wide, flat head, and then he runs his fingers gently over it.

“I did. I did and I’m sorry.” He whispers. Seungri lifts his head, but Daesung can’t see it. He feels Seungri’s head lift as it unsettles his hand from where it had come to rest and he lets it drop to the bed as he tries to see Seungri in the dark. 

_ But you’re back? _ He asks, and it’s still a whine, but it’s hopeful and Daesung lets out a wrecked chuckle.

“I am, I’m sorry.” He says, and he feels the bed shift and suddenly Seungri is a human and he’s pressing himself into Daesung’s lap, his body curling into him. 

“I thought you wouldn’t come back. But I wouldn’t ever be happy again if you didn’t come back.” He mutters, speaking fast and close, his mouth too close to Daesung’s. 

Daesung can’t see him, he’s just got his hands around Seungri, pulling him closer and pressing against him. “Shh, shh” He whispers, his lips coming into contact with Seungri’s cheek. “I’m here.”

It’s an inconvenient moment for the attraction he feels for Seungri to bubble back to the surface. He keeps it on the back burner, hoping that it will either die down or stay there and not be an inconvenience. But it’s back up at the surface and he feels his breathing start to come quicker and his heart starts to beat faster. The butterflies in his stomach return and he closes his eyes and wills himself to calm down.

“I need you.” Seungri whispers, his mouth on the edge of Daesung’s and Daesung had been so focused on trying to stop being attracted to Seungri that he hadn’t felt the shift.

“Seungri.” He breathes out, and Seungri makes a delighted sound, moving his mouth so that it’s hovering just above Daesung’s.

“You never let me kiss you.” He murmurs. “But I like it, and you do too.” His lips aren’t touching Daesung’s but they may as well be. 

“Because you didn’t…” He tries, his mind too blank to help him form full sentences. “You never seemed to…” He can’t make full sentences, but Seungri doesn’t seem to have that problem, and he just laughs gently, not moving away.

“I did. I wanted to kiss you. You let me the first time, but then you wouldn’t anymore. I thought you didn’t like me.” He breathes out, and Daesung’s mouth opens, and Seungri grins. “But you kept coming to see me, and you kept giving me presents.” He chuckles breathlessly, repositioning himself in Daesung’s lap so that his legs are wrapped around Daesung’s waist and he can put his arms around Daesung’s neck. “Can I kiss you now? You want me to.” 

Daesung swallows hard. “I, uh.” He pauses, his heart hammering in his chest. “Yeah, I do want you to.” He says, and Seungri hums, pressing forward so their lips meet. He brings his hands up to hold Daesung’s face and kisses him hard.

It lacks finesse, Daesung thinks suddenly, his mind racing to catch up with what’s happening. But no matter how sloppy and innocent the kiss is, the feeling behind it is so much  _ more _ and Daesung groans deep in his throat. He presses one hand up into Seungri’s hair, holding his head while the other arm holds Seungri against him. Seungri pulls his lips away briefly and presses a kiss to Daesung’s nose, chuckling as he does so.

“You can’t see me, can you?” He asks, and Daesung tries to say no but it’s more like a moan as he nudges Seungri’s chin out of the way so that he can press open-mouthed kisses against Seungri’s exposed throat.  Seungri laughs, arching his body against Daesung so that his throat is more exposed. “Oh! But wait.” He says suddenly, pulling away from Daesung to scramble off the bed. 

Daesung blinks a few times, confusion and disappointment warring with each other in his foggy brain. He hears Seungri moving about to his right, the wall with the tapestry on it, so he turns his head in that direction. Light flares up from a torch on that wall, and Daesung can just make out Seungri moving around to go to the opposite wall. He turns so that he can catch sight of Seungri on the other side, and is rewarded with the sight of him when the second torch flares to life. 

Seungri hurries back to the bed, hopping up and crawling back toward Daesung before sitting in front of him and grabbing his hands. “You’re worried and you want to tell me something.” he says, bright and chipper as if he hadn’t been sad and then seductive just moments before.

“Ah, yeah.” Daesung responds, his mind unable to really keep up with what’s happening. “I looked you up.” He says, his eyes falling to their joined hands. “You’re much older than me.” He says with a slight laugh.

Seungri laughs, shaking his head and pulling Daesung’s hands closer to him. “Am I?” he asks, eyes bright and dancing with amusement. “Well then you’ll just have to start treating me with some respect!” He says, dramatic and joking.

Daesung laughs, leaning closer. “You like the way I treat you.” He says, teasing, accusing.

Seungri shrugs, a different kind of light coming into his eyes. “I do. But…” he trails off here, and Daesung tilts his head just a fraction, eyes searching. 

“But?” He asks, and Seungri let go of his hands and allows his own to travel up Daesung’s arms. 

“But, I want more.” He says, easy and soft. His eyes are following the progress of his hands and Daesung is almost certain he’s never seen anything so beautiful.

“More what?” Daesung asks, but he knows, really. 

Seungri make a huffy noise and sits forward. “More of  _ you. _ ” He breathes out, then closes the gap between them for another kiss.

Daesung presses into it, his mind spinning to catch up with Seungri and with his own actions. His fingers press up against Seungri’s sides and he feels Seungri’s hands go into his hair. It’s all he’s aware of for a while longer.

Late in the evening, when they’re lying next to each other, Seungri’s head on Daesung’s chest and fingers intertwined, Daesung’s mind rolls around the possibilities. Will Seungri live forever? Will he want to leave? Would he move out of his cave and up into Daesung’s small but comfortable apartment?

Seungri shifts against him, his eyes closed and his fingers clutching at Daesung’s shirt. “You think so loud.” he murmurs, and Daesung smiles fondly. “Don’t worry so much.” he adds, and Daesung feels his stomach drop and his heart begin to soar. “I love you.” he whispers, sleepy and sincere.

“I love you, too.” Daesung responds, fingers carding through Seungri’s hair. It’ll work out, he thinks, not least because they both want it to. It’ll work out, he repeats to himself, because they’ll make it.


End file.
